Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
For seven weeks the voyagers followed the coast northwards,
marvelling at its extent and growing increasingly excited at the signi-
ficance of the discovery they were making. Banks and the other sci-
entists had a wonderful time collecting botanical and zoological spe-
cimens though, in general, they found the coast rather barren. What
neither they nor Cook realised as bays, headlands and inlets were
noted and named on the charts, was that they were running into one
of nature's deadliest traps. North of the Tropic of Capricorn the Great
Barrier Reef begins to converge with the coast. Shoals and arms of
viciously beautiful coral gradually but inexorably close the gap. As
Endeavour
sailed northwards the watch officers had to contend with
wildly fluctuating soundings - 20 fathoms, 17, 12, 22, 9! Just before
11 o'clock on the night of 10 June the ship came to a sudden, jarring
halt. She was stuck fast on the reef - and at high tide.
For the next twenty-four hours everything was desperate but
organised action. Everyone, including the scientists, took turns at
the pumps. The boats were launched in readiness to haul
Endeavour
off. Everything that could be spared, starting with the cannon, was
thrown overboard. As the ship listed she took in more water. She
failed to float off on the next high tide. In the afternoon the pumps
were clearly losing the battle. If
Endeavour
did not float free on the
next tide she might sink before the crew could get her beached. That
night, at high water, with boats' crews straining at the oars the ship
was brought off. The sails were run up and
Endeavour
moved to-
wards the land. But there was no suitable place near at hand to run
her ashore and water was gushing in through the rent in her bot-
tom. Only a broken-off lump of coral lodged in the gash was slow-
ing the inflow. One remedy remained to be tried. An old sail was
lowered over the bow with ropes at each corner, manoeuvred into
position over the hole and lashed tight. It worked. Most of the wa-
ter was pumped out. But it could only be a temporary measure; the
stricken vessel had to be hauled onshore for proper repair. But the
